What is the best place to stay in the Cotswolds?

The best area to stay in might be subjective, but some of our favourite villages include Broadway, Stow-on-the-Wold, Bourton-on-the-Water, Upper and Lower Slaughter and Burford, which has a pretty, sloping high street with lots of little shops. If you want to explore a larger town or historic city, with plenty to do and lots of dining options at your fingertips, try staying in a village closer to Cheltenham or Oxford. Choose somewhere that’s between the two, like Bourton-on-the-Water or Burford, and you have the best of both worlds – a quaint village getaway, with access to these larger destinations filled with history.

What not to miss in the Cotswolds?

As well as long country walks and leisurely pub lunches in pretty villages, there is so much to explore and see in the Cotswolds. If you’re in the area, the opulent Bleinheim Palace is a must-do, with its Baroque architecture by Sir John Vanbrugh, and Capability Brown gardens. Other stately homes in the Cotswolds that are well worth a visit include Chastleton House, Snowshill Manor, and Sudeley Castle. Not too far from Bleinheim Palace is Burford Garden Company, an elevated garden centre with enough to do to spend an afternoon there, with a bookshop, homeware and lifestyle shopping, delicatessen and café, as well as a wide range of plants and garden equipment, of course. As previously mentioned, Oxford and Cheltenham are also worth a day trip out to.

How many days are enough for the Cotswolds?

This is down to preference, of course. A long weekend is a good start, and would give you enough time to explore a few villages and go on some picturesque walks. But equally, just staying the night in a quiet village, as a diversion on your way to somewhere further afield, could be another nice way to experience some of what the area has to offer, if you’re short on time. Conversely, there is so much ground to cover in the Cotswolds, that you could easily spend a whole week and still not have discovered all of its treasures.

Looking for a Cotswold cottage, estate (or Airbnb) to call your own for a spell instead? These are our favourite rentals in the region.